CINE Y GUERRA

The results of the current study showed more variance in how the in-depth interview participants reflected upon their practical experiences in relation to the teaching and learning of science, in comparison to their university coursework. The following key themes emerged: the varying nature of the quality of science teaching, the impact of actually teaching science, student engagement, and science in the curriculum. All of the participants attend a university with high levels of practical experience included within the degree but the results of this study show the quality of science teaching observed during these experiences was diverse. Some participants observed engaging, inquiry science, others saw teaching that relied heavily on curriculum resources, and there were some instances where science teaching was not seen at all. When participants viewed science teaching by mentor teachers in a positive light, a common point of reference was the passion these teachers had for teaching science and the support offered by their cooperating teacher.

Previous research has identified that in some circumstances, preservice teachers may have limited opportunities to see science being taught or have the opportunity to teach science themselves (Mullholland & Wallace, 2001; 2003). For the participants who saw low quality or no teaching of science in their final practicums, all, excluding Sarah, remained optimistic about their capabilities for teaching science, which indicates a level of durability of their science teaching efficacy. Durability in the context of teacher efficacy is the ability to maintain their beliefs for a sustained period of time. These findings support previous studies by Palmer (2006a), Utley et al. (2005)

and Settlage et al. (2009) which identified positive changes to science teaching efficacy after a science methods course were able to be sustained over a nine or ten- month period. The findings may also support those of Howitt (2007) who suggested that when a practical experience does not provide an optimal experience of science learning and teaching, positive perceptions of a science methods unit are of importance. However, Sarah’s experiences may support these studies, in that they also identified that for some participants, there was a decrease in science teaching efficacy beliefs due to a lack of opportunity or negative experiences of teaching and viewing science (Palmer, 2006a; Settlage et al., 2009; Utley et al.2005).

Being given opportunities to teach science whilst on practicums was highlighted by participants as positively contributing to their beliefs and perception of teaching science. Again, experiences of this were varying in nature. When personal science teaching efficacy beliefs were viewed in a positive light, it was connected to either high levels of student engagement or positive feedback from the mentor teacher. When preservice teachers see children motivated by the topic, enthusiastic and engaged, there can be positive ramifications for their teaching efficacy beliefs (Swars & Dooley, 2011). Several in-depth interview participants mentioned the positive impact of having children engaged in the learning experiences they had designed as being beneficial for their perceptions of their own capabilities. The findings of this research suggest that the students were more engaged when the lessons were hands on, supporting their own perceptions on the nature of science, as they shared in the initial in-depth interviews. However, for Sarah, there were more challenges in teaching the later parts of the 5E model, which were more structured and theory based. Despite this, she was still optimistic about using the model to teach science because she recognised the benefits of being able to teach the more hands-on aspects that are present in the Engage and Explore phases of the model. This finding is similar to the research of Fazio et al. (2010) which identified that, even when preservice teachers experienced challenges in teaching using inquiry models during practical experiences, they remained positive about using inquiry when they began their teaching careers. The role of the cooperating teacher during practical experiences had an impact on how participants perceived the teaching and learning of science. Positive qualities of teachers that participants observed included a passion for science, a clear enjoyment

of teaching science and an understanding of how the students learnt best, which is attuned to Hattie’s (2009) view of quality teachers. The importance of support by cooperating teachers and the impact this has on the science teaching efficacy of preservice teachers has been highlighted by previous research by Hamman et al. (2006) and Bhattacharyya et al. (2009). A key negative quality identified in this current research was preservice teachers observing their cooperating or science specialist teacher teaching science in a prescriptive way. Some participants mentioned how in one of their experiences the teachers taught in a way that were described as clinical or working through a checklist. This may reflect a misunderstanding of the 5E’s inquiry model that underpins the Primary Connections resources that were being used. The priority of science within different school’s curriculum was another key influence on the in-depth interview participants’ science teaching efficacy beliefs. The varying experiences of participants in this study highlight the diversity of science learning experiences that seem to prevail in Australian primary schools (Rennie et al., 2001). In this current research, there were varying levels of priority placed on science within the curriculum at different schools, particularly in terms of timetabling science and an overcrowded curriculum. For some of the participants, this was also represented in the number of science resources within the school. These findings corroborate the research of Andersen et al. (2004) in that the availability of resources and materials, and timetabling constraints impacted on the perceptions of preservice teachers in relation to teaching science. Another of the most influential aspects of the context was the time available to teach science. Indeed, there have been questions about the pressure on primary teachers in Australia in relation to time constraints to teach science effectively (Angus et al., 2007; Crook & Wilson, 2015). As discussed by the in-depth interview participants this current study supports this concern, with aspects such as fitting in all the required content, the many interruptions that exist within schools, and how science is timetabled into the weekly curriculum all mentioned.

When reflecting on student engagement, high engagement was connected to hands-on activities and the use of digital technologies. This notion supports a previous study by Swars and Dooley (2011), which identified that observing high levels of student engagement can have a positive influence on science teaching efficacy. The

behavioural needs of students were also reflected on by four in-depth interview participants in relation to how they perceived the science learning experiences.

5.5 The In-Depth Participants’ Perceptions of the Quality of their Tertiary